Virginia's annual Hurricane Preparedness sales tax holiday will take place from Sunday to Saturday. During the seven-day tax break, purchases of certain hurricane preparedness items will be exempt from Virginia sales tax.

For the six-month hurricane season, which begins June 1, NOAA predicts the Atlantic hurricane region will see three to six hurricanes, with only one or two major hurricanes. That's lower than the average six hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

Still, officials urge residents to take precautions.

"It only takes one hurricane or tropical storm making landfall to have disastrous impacts on our communities," Joe Nimmich, FEMA associate administrator for response and recovery, said in a press release. "Just last month, Pensacola, Fla., saw five inches of rain in 45 minutes — without a tropical storm or hurricane. We need you to be ready."

Tara Gudger, a Lowes spokeswoman, would not comment on the specific impact the tax holiday has on sales, but said, "(Tax-exempt) items are naturally popular among consumers during these holidays."

She added that generators, tarps, flashlights and first aid kits are among the most popular items purchased during the tax holiday.

But the nonprofit Tax Foundation argues that sales tax holidays are not, in fact, a boon to the local economy.

"Rather than stimulating new sales, sales tax holidays simply shift the timing of sales," a 2013 report from the group says.

Tax-exempt items

Here is a comprehensive list of products eligible for sales tax exemption during the seven-day hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday in Virginia.